After meeting with the federal ethics commissioner, Bill Morneau told the Commons he plans to donate part of the proceeds from the sale of his shares in the family business.

The finance minister says he’ll donate the difference in the value of his Morneau Shepell shares between the date he was elected and the date they were sold.

Morneau told the Commons he gave commissioner Mary Dawson assurances he’ll sell all of his shares, worth at least $21-million and put his other assets in a blind trust.

The announcement comes as Morneau continues facing Opposition heat over how he handled his personal finances since becoming a cabinet minister.

Tory finance critic Pierre Poilievre asked Morneau to commit to donating the money to help pay down the government’s deficit.  

Meanwhile, the ethics commissioner has reportedly responded to a letter from NDP ethics critic Nathan Cullen, telling him that she intends to look into if the finance minister was in a conflict-of-interest in introducing a pension reform bill.